Golf putter



p 1960 w. J. M INTYRE 2,954,231

GOLF PUTTER Filed Nov. 7, 1957 u IN VEN TOR. M/IL FRED JMrcf/vry/es 4 62a I I I Ame/vs Ya United States Patent 2,954,231 GOLF PU'ITER Wilfred J. MacIntyre, Chaska Beach, Huron, Ohio Filed Nov. 7, 1957, Ser. No. 695,017 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-164) This invention relates to improvements in golf putters. Primarily the invention resides in the form of the putter head, its dimensions, and certain particulars of construction resulting in advantages not heretofore realized in golf putters.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a hollow putter head, having relatively large horizontal dimensions giving considerable stability for a headof a given mass, so that the player by resting the relatively large head on the ground causes the shaft to take its natural position, whereupon it may be grasped in that position and swung freely and easily.

Another object is the provision of a putter having a head with a front to back dimension equal at least to onehalf its sidewise dimension so as to give the head stability in both of those directions.

Another object is the provision of a putter head the upper surface of which is inclined downwardly from front to rear, thereby concentrating the mass toward the front or striking face of the head, and also one in which the upper surface is inclined downwardly from the sides toward the middle, these latter inclinations providing a trench or furrow running from front to rear making a guide line assisting the player in linin up the direction through which the club should be swung in making a put.

Another object is the provision of a club head with an upper surface sand blasted or otherwise roughened except in the guide line above mentioned to provide a con trasting line of shiny metal.

Still another object is the provision of a hollow head arranged to receive metal inserts of selected thickness to adjust the weight of the head.

Other objects and features of novelty will appearas Patented Sept. 27, 1960 surface of the head. The player in preparing to make a put places the putter head behind the ball with the furrow 17 in line with the center of the ball and the other end of the furrow lined up with the direction the ball must travel to go into the hole.

I employ special means for making the furrow 17 clearly visible to the player, preferably without any machining operation. In effecting this purpose I may provide a mask illustrated in Fig. 7 having a plate 18 covering the striking face 10 of the head and a plate 19 having flat portions covering the surfaces 11 and 12 and a curved portion covering the surface 13 of the head, the two mask portions 18 and 19 being joined by a narrow bar 20. When the mask is adjusted a sand blasting spout 21 may be used to direct the blasting operation against the top surface of the head while the bar 20 protects the furrow portion 17. The natural sheen of the metal is thus preserved along the furrow and makes a shiny guide line indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 by the numeral 22. The socket 23 for the club shaft is disposed entirely to one side of the guide line in order to leave space for a continuous line on the top of the head from front to rear.

As indicated in Figs. 5 and 6, the head is hollowed out on its lower side affording at least one and preferably two cavities 24. Each of the side walls of these cavities is of uniform thickness in the up and down direction. The cavities, of course, serve to distribute the mass of the head over a larger area, thereby increasing the stability I proceed with the description of that embodiment of the I invention which, for the purposes of the present application, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a putter head embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Figs. 3 and 4 are elevational views of the front and back respectively of the putter head.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the line 66 of Fig. 5, and

Fig. 7 is a top plan View of a head being sand blasted through a mask to leave a bright metal sheen along the guide line. I

The head of a putter is shown in various positions in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive of the drawing. It is constructed as a metal casting or forging of generally triangular form in plan. Its front or striking face 10 is fiat and approximately vertical. Opposite the striking face 10 there are two faces 11 and 12 which preferably merge at the back in a curved surface '13. The surfaces 11 and 12 also preferably lie in approximately vertical planes.

The upper surface of the head is inclined downwardly toward the rear, the curved surface 13 being of less height than the surface 10 at the middle, which is the striking face of the head. The upper surface of the head also slopes from the lateral ends 15 and 16 downwardly toward the median line, leaving at the median line a trench or furrow 17 extending from front to rear. This trench or furrow constitutes a guide line in the upper of the head and helping it to hold the shaft upright when the head is rested upon the ground. The cavities, however, have the additional purpose of enabling plates 25 of selected thickness to be soldered or welded in position for adjusting the mass of the head when required by the player.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A metal golf club head having a generally triangular form as viewed from above and below, and having a substantially flat vertical striking face, two rear faces opposite said striking face and lyin in substantially vertical planes, said two rear faces extending from substantially vertical lateral ends of said head and merging in a curved surface being of less height than said striking face at the middle thereof, said head being substantially hollow to extend the area over which its weight is distributed, said head being open on its lower side affording.

two cavities therein defined by walls of substantially uniform thickness, the upper surface of said head sloping downwardly from the striking face toward the rear and downwardly from said lateral ends toward the middle thereof, whereby a front-to rear furrow is formed in a line substantially perpendicular to the plane of said striking face midway between said lateral ends and defining a stroke direction guide line, a shaft socket adjacent to but entirely on one side of said furrow, a narrow band of said upper surface lying along said line and having a metallic sheen, the remainder of said upper surface having a rough finish contrasting with said metallic sheen, and plates of selected thickness disposed in said cavities for adjusting the mass of the head.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 149,156 Weatherington Mar. 30, 1948 1,518,316 Ellingham Dec. 9, 1924 1,531,821 Scott Mar. 31, 1925 1,618,640 Dawson Feb. 22, 1927 1,703,199 McClure Feb. 26, 1929 2,360,364 Reach Oct. 17, 1944 2,820,638 Morrison Jan. 21, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 10,497 Great Britain 1907 

